Comment Guidelines

Few things make smittenkitchen.com more fun for me than the lively comment sections on each post. I love to hear from you, enjoy our conversations and a, flattered daily that you’d share even a snippet of your cooking life with me. That said, the larger these comment sections grow, the more “weeding” I find unfortunately necessary to keep the comment section on-topic and, I hope, as good of a read for you as it is for me. Thus, rather than leaving anyone perplexed as to where their comment disappeared to, here’s a loose outline of what will fly or flop in smitten kitchen discussions:

Please come back more often:

Join the conversation. Share a story. Be part of smitten kitchen. Corny as it sounds, a great comment (or a thousand of them) can really make my day. Plus? This site without a comment section would be like me talking to myself all day long, and, trust me, there’s already too much of that.

Recipe feedback. Have you tried it? Did the recipe work for you? What changes did you make, or would you make next time? Have any suggestions for others who want to try the recipe but might need that last push? Confession: I jump right to the end of comment sections on other cooking sites when I’m curious about a recipe, because I know that the further down you go, the more likely it is that respondents will have made it, and reported back with their results. As I never make a recipe without reading available reviews of it first, comments that help me answer the “should I bother making this?” question are invaluable to me, and I’d hope others.

Recipe questions. Is an instruction confusing? Have you never heard of an ingredient and Google was no help in giving you a lead on it? Want to know how it compares to another recipe on the site? Should I have a good answer, or heck, even a good-enough one, I respond to these as quickly as possible.

I still love you, but your comment? Not so much:

Not skimming previous comments. Yes, I know that comment sections can get very long, especially when people are especially excited about a new recipe. I love this enthusiasm. But before you ask a question, can I poliltely request that you check previous comments to see if it has been previously asked and/or answered, either by skimming or doing a word search, usually “Find” under your browser’s Edit menu or Cntrl/Command+F on most keyboards. And please, please don’t say things like “I don’t have time to read all these comments, but…” which often happens when a comment section hits a certain size; I know that your time is valuable but it sounds flippant to the value of other people’s time.

Off-topic requests or notes. A comment needs to relate, even tangentially, to the post. Please don’t leave a comment that asks permission to use a photo, or requests that we work together — it’s not really a public conversation, so send an email instead. Likewise, did you nominate smittenkitchen.com for an award on your blog or site? Why thank you! But tell me in an email, not in an off-topic and of little-use-to-other-readers comment.

Leaving full recipes in the comments. Due to space limitations, I cannot allow this, but this doesn’t mean that I don’t want to hear about another version of a recipe I’ve shared. Instead, first, tell us what’s different about a recipe you like or prefer (i.e. “my favorite pudding recipe has no eggs, but gelatin instead”) so we know why it is worth checking out. Then, tell us where we can find it (i.e. “in the Joy of Cooking, page 218” or “on my site”). The thing is, the internet is full of recipes; what it’s short of is explanations of why one may stand apart from the crowd, or why it deserves your attention. A comment that hones in on this — one that adds insight or contrast — is infinitely more valuable to the conversation than cluttering the web with yet another unsubstantiated recipe.

Plugging a product or company. I steer very clear of product recommendations on this site, intentionally — this is about cooking, not shopping. I would never tell you that you need to use This Brand or That Farm to make a smitten kitchen because that would stand in stark contrast to what I feel cooking should be about: accessibility and flexibility. “Buy cheap vanilla beans here”, “the best bread flour is from…” and like comments will be quickly marked as the spam that they are.

Shamelessly plugging your own site or project. Trying to draw an audience to your site? Say something interesting. Add something unique the conversation and people will want to know where to hear more from you. “OMG love this.” takes up space but adds little color to the conversation. “I’ve got more recipes like this on my site, come visit” sounds like self-promotion, not recipe commentary. I’d so rather hear what you really have to say.

Your url in the comment body. The correct place to leave your site’s url is clearly marked in the comment form. It will appear as a link to your name. Unfortunately, anywhere else resembles the above a little too much for its own good, and will end up in Comment Purgatory (yes, an actual folder).

Slander, bile, insults, blah blah: Fortunately, you’re all such fine folks that this happens almost never, but it should go without saying that when you’re in the comment section, consider yourself a welcome guest in my home, and if your comment is rude, unpleasant or, frankly, makes it clear that you’re kind of an ass, we’re going to quickly usher you to the door before you cause a party-ruining fuss. How people can get so riled up by salad or cupcakes is beyond us, but seeing as it does happen… sigh… perhaps use this as a reminder that the smitten kitchen comment section is not the best place for one to work out their slaw rage.

22 comments on Comment Guidelines

Off topic – though as a woman currently in her third trimester, I WILL be making his shake imminently – but do you do anything special to keep your vitamix container so clear and sparkly? Mine is so cloudy, and I just tried a baking soda scrub on it to no avail. If you have any tips on the matter, I would love to hear them!

How strange that comments have appeared on this page. It’s honestly an accident, but to answer your question (and once I know you’ve read it, I’ll turn them off here): I haven’t used mine very much. I’m sorry, terrible answer, I’m just not a big smoothie drinker, I don’t make a lot of juices. Perhaps I should. I bought the Vitamix not because I imagined using it everyday but I was upset after going through 2 $100 blenders in 3 years (each had a 1-year warranty) and the Vitamix, although spectacularly expensive (although it was on sale at Costco at the time), has a 7-year warranty.

So delicious. I had leftover bacon from breakfast and leftover corn on the cob and just reheated it in a little butter before mixing in with the other ingredients and penne pasta. I added about a half cup of cream cheese and that made it even MORE of a decadent, rich dish. Even my pickiest son loved it. Simple salad on the side and dinner was served.

Hi Deb- over the last 4 weeks I’ve made this strawberry summer cake 4 times, the last two requested by houseguests who have now gone home. I’d like to make another to mail it to them. I was thinking of making it, cooling, leaving in pan, vacuum sealing and freezing and mailing in styrofoam container. Is this how you’d do it? Thanks for making me look so good this weekend.

Sounds like this was quite the process, but your friends are clearly lucky to have you! It can be hectic to get ready for a wedding, so I cannot imagine having to complete a process like this prior to one :) It came out beautifully, even if some of the blobs aren’t actually found in nature! I absolutely love the accents.

I made this and absolutely loved the filling and the crumb topping. I used blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. Will definitely be making again.
The only problem I had is with the crust. It was very chewy/leathery. I had no issues while making it and know not to overwork the dough. Will probably opt for a different crust next time.

I made these. Used them to top a (precooked) cobbler of apples and rhubarb. But my question is why do we have to cut circles and then reroll the scraps? Why not cut into wedges so there are no scraps to reroll?

Just made this and liked it a lot, especially for how easy it was. I don’t always love eggplant but it was very tasty in this sauce and gave it a nice thick consistency. I left the garlic raw for a stronger flavor and I think I’d add some lemon juice next time because it felt like it could use some acid.

I’ve seen questions on why these cookies would spread but don’t see any responses. I’ve made these 4 times now. The first 2 times were perfect (and delightful). The last two times, in the last two days are pancakes. Thoughts on why? Butter and dough were both in fridge well past recipe guidelines. Thanks!

I do not consider myself a cook by any means, but I desperately wanted something warm in tomato sauce for dinner tonight and so I wandered over to your website to see what I could find. These meatballs were so easy to make and even more importantly SO DELICIOUS. Will definitely be adding this recipe to the weekend rotation. Yum!!

Made this last night, we loved it! I’d add even more cauliflower next time, as it was SO delicious. When I’ve tried sheet pan chicken recipes in the past, the food is more braised than roasted, due to the juices from chicken, or some of the other ingredients. So I spread the chicken & veggies out on both a half sheet & another smaller sheet, to ensure that everything had enough space to roast. Afterwards, I did not think that was necessary, excess liquid never developed. But I’d still use two pans, since I want to increase the amount of cauliflower. And I might try adding more of the marinade to the sheet pan (even stir a few dollops into some of the veggies?).

I was so excited to try this because I LOVE the Nancy Silverton recipe and have made it a number of times but it always makes so much and and I don’t ever have XL eggs etc etc. But you should modify your recipe…don’t say to bring mixture to a boil before tempering eggs, I should have known better! It just needs to be hot to temper eggs. I’m a trained pastry chef, but I nevertheless followed your instructions. Since the milk and cream came to a boil with acidic brown sugar made even more acidic by caramelization, it turned my mixture into ricotta!! In Nancy’s recipe she doesn’t say to BTB, just to liquify. Xo Love your recipes normally Deb! Thanks

Yum! Just made this tonight! I halved the recipe and omitted the carrots because I’m allergic (I know it’s weird). I did half mayo half yogurt I also like a little more vinegar so I added quite a bit more (more than double) and added in 2 scallions and some green apples. I practically ate the whole mixing bowl myself. I, too, never ever ate coleslaw growing up but not cannot get enough. I love making it super fresh and salad-y tasting. The savory element of the cabbage just keeps me coming back!

I was so excited to make this for thanksgiving as I’ve noticed my apple pie does always cave in. However, this one caved in just as much as the ones I’ve made before (America’s Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated or Ina Garten have been our staples). I was careful to use a lot of apples (4.33 lbs or so) and they macerated for about 1.5 hours. I did use a regular/non-latticed top, but since the recipe indicated you could do so, that shouldn’t have been the problem.

How has this worked for others?
Any idea why it did collapse? What are the other factors?

I love this recipe! I make this bread several times in the fall and winter and it is always a hit. It’s an easy recipe and the results are consistent every time. If you’re wavering on whether or not to make it, the answer, politely, is DO IT.

I don’t include calorie counts because there are too many variables in my recipes (serving sizes, ingredient choices, etc.) but I use this recipe analysis tool when I want to check information. It’s far more useful than any list I could add at the end of a recipe because it allows you to cut and paste whole recipes, removing or adding any ingredients you’d like and adjusting serving sizes to what you’ll eat or make.